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This is one of my favorite days of the month. It’s RWI’s meeting day, and I’m excited!!! (As usual.) I love getting together with other romance writers. I love talking shop. I loving learning how other people write, market, reach out and go for the gold.

And I love asking questions and having them answered without anyone blinking an eye. And I have a million of them–hence my other name, Terminally Curious. 😛

Today The Hens are speaking and the wait is killing me. Do you know who they are?

This picture is from RWI’s newsletter, Inklings. Jackie King is the redhead and Peggy Fielding has on the red scarf. (I have the honor of being Peggy’s shirt-tail relative, and I’m proud!)

The Hens have a new book out, which they’ll be signing at the meeting.

This is from September’s Inklings, too.

I can’t wait to get hold of one! These women have the greatest ideas for stories with a twist that’s usually a shade different from the norm. And sometimes they add a rooster to their mix. This time it looks like Chuck Sasser is the rooster of choice.

And I hear Marilyn Pappano might be bringing her new knee to meet us–and she’ll have a new book or two to sign.

I’m not positive if this is Marilyn’s newest book or if she’s whipped out another one or two since we last spoke.

If I could just write with her speed and ability, I’d be one happy camper!

Wait. I am a happy camper–today’s RWI day. I guess I’d be a happier camper. 😉

If you’re out and about today and you’d like a book or two with a personal message written to you by the author(s) meet us at OSU-Tulsa. We’ll welcome you like an old friend!

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New love, weddings and Colorado. Can you think of anything that’s more fun for Labor Day?

This is my identical twin. Isn’t she gorgeous? (I can say that about all my siblings, but today I’m just talking about Lisa.)

She had a wedding over the weekend. Not hers. 😛 She’s been happily married a LONG time. Her second son got married. I didn’t go (I wish I had!) but I was there in spirit.

These are the women in her sons’ lives. Lisa’s the third one from the left in case you can’t tell which one is the MIL. The two on the left side are now her DILs, and the one on the right is her oldest son’s girl friend.

Aren’t they gorgeous? I heard a great time was had by all. (Dad went, so at least I got to hear about it.)

In case you’re wondering, Lisa and I aren’t really identical. We aren’t even the same age, and don’t look exactly alike. I wish we did!

She spends way more time with her flatiron and working out than I do. (She and her husband own an exercise machine store.) She probably spends an hour a day with hers, while I spend about zero minutes with mine–unless my bangs curl up.

Let’s count now . . . Number Four has two DILs and a grandson now, and I only have one DIL.

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What a great weekend we had! I met a budding romance writer and we chatted about first chapters, great articles and beta readers over delicious food. I couldn’t have been happier if I’d written the scene myself!

I’m talking about the trip Gary and I took to Branson over the weekend. The 50th anniversary of Silver Dollar City and 50th anniversary of Shepherd of the Hills.

We had a great time, except when we tried to drive. The area was so crowded, if you got caught going the wrong way on the wrong road, you were lucky to make 3 mph. No kidding!

Gary declared that to be our last trip to Branson. (We’ll see.) We’re also never going back to Houston (fine with me!) since our Yukon was broken into when we were there last, and his custom made boots, as well as his tools, #1 son’s saddle bags, a plug in cooler and numerous other things, stolen. Grrr!

We did have fun. And (naturally) I saw a few people I knew. We got really good seats at Shepherd of the Hills. Third row! Close enough to get dirt in our teeth when the horses galloped past.

As we waited for the play to start (which is nothing like the John Wayne movie, btw) I saw a man walking toward me who looked really familiar. The woman he was with sat right next to me, so I asked, “Are you from C Town?”

“No,” she answered. “But he is.”

“You work at Walmart, don’t you?” I asked him.

“Yeah. You look really familiar.” He looked a tad confused.

Loved the woman he was with. She was sweet and quiet, and didn’t even complain when the kid behind us kicked her in the back or stuck his arm all the way down the back of her seat.

I was ready to smack the parents when, before the play started, they explained to their kids in a whiny voice that sounded like they didn’t really know the kids and weren’t sure how to handle them, that the bad men weren’t really bad. They were only acting. The people didn’t really live there, they were just pretending. And the fire, while it was real, wouldn’t hurt us. And the man who was going to die really wasn’t going to die.

Gaaah! Did they think the kids would run screaming from the place if they hadn’t explained? Were they worried the boy would put on his boots and go fight fire if they didn’t tell him it was part of the play?

There’s a man from C-Town in the play, but I didn’t get a chance to speak to him. I think I saw him playing one of the parts, but it’s been years since he lived here, so I couldn’t be sure.

His name is Shawn Blair. He’s been a cast member since 1989 and he plays Jim Lane and Preachin’ Bill.

He definitely didn’t look like that in high school! If he was in the play that night (and I can’t be sure because I didn’t get to talk to him) he played Jim Lane and did a great job.

I’ll post more about our trip later. One last word about Shepherd–if you haven’t seen it, go! It’s a good play with a great moral. It’s nothing like the movie. (Only the character names are the same.) It is like the book.